TASK:- ANALYSE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY RELIGIOUS

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND SHOW HOW ITS IMPACT ON THE LEARNER

1.0 Definition of term;

1.1 Religion:-

According to Minishi J.E (Christian Religious Education for Primary Teacher Education
2010). The term religion is defined in many ways. To some people, religion is just a
system of belief and practices concerning a supreme being. In Africa traditional Society it
is the total view of life and it cannot be separated from their activities. She goes further to
say that Karl Marx, the renowned philosopher defined religion as the opium of the people
which gives temporary happiness to those with problems.
Christian also defines religion as God’s gradual revelation to human beings through
creation, covenants, prophecy and Jesus Christ. Hymn songs, worship and prayer.

However according to Mwaura, N.P. etal (Primary teacher Education, Christian Religious
Education. 2003) Religion is a complex phenomena that has theological, social,
psychological moral, Philosophical, anthropological and political aspects hence it is
difficult to define it, never the less, they continue to state, several scholars have attempted
to define religion from various perspectives Evon Vogt and William Lessa ( A Reader in
Comparative Religion: an Anthropological Approach 1979) defined Religion as a system
of belief and practices directed to the ultimate concern of the society. The “Ultimate
Concern” is here understood to refer to “meaning” and “Power”. “Meaning “ is the
Ultimate meaning of the central value of society while “power” is the Ultimate sacred or
super natural power which stands behind those values. Viewed this way then religion
explains and expresses the values of society.

Another way of looking at Religion is from a theological perspective as stated by

Mugambi. J.N.K (A comparative study of Religion.1990).

He states that Religion is regarded as a virtue which leads one to render to God the
homage that is due to him. This homage consists of believing in God who is personal
such a God is infinite in attributes. This leads ones to develop absolute respect for God
and submit oneself to God. He goes further to define Religion from a historical
perspective .He says that this is the approach often used by the anthropologist and to
some extend sociologist to try and find the meaning of Religion in a given society
.Anthropologist discern what particular societies evolved as substitutes for revelation.
The definition of Religion them becomes pragmatic and come to embrace belief, rites,and
institutions which fulfil specific functions at a particular period in history.
J.S. Mbiti .(African Religion and Philosophy.1969)states that the African carries his
religion everywhere into funeral ceremonies, if a student into the examination room or
into parliament if he/she is a politician. Religion indicates a total view of life and
separation would mean looking over the dynamics of life.

1.2 EDUCATION
According to oxford Advance leaner dictionary 2005, Education is a process of teaching,
training and learning especially in schools or colleges to improve knowledge and develop
skills according to en. Wikipedia.org/wiki/Education, It defines Education in the
broadest sense as any act or experience that has a formative on the mind, character or
physical ability of an Individual. It goes further to say that it is the gradual process of
acquiring knowledge.

2.0 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Minish J.E (Christian Religious Education for Primary Teacher Education. 2010) states
that, Before the coming of the Christian Missionaries, religion permeated the whole
African culture. There was little formal Instruction in Religion and it was not a subject in
the modern sense of the word.

Religious beliefs and practices were expressed in four rites of the passage namely birth,
initiation, Marriage and death.
Mbithi J.S. (Africa Religion and Philosophy. 1969) stated that An African is notoriously
religious and that the entire life of an African was religious.
However with the coming of the Christian Missionaries the situation changed with many
people identifying themselves with Christian Missionaries special places of worship such
as Churches, special books such as the Bible and special days for worship such as
Saturdays and Sundays were also introduced states Minish J.E (Christian Religious
Education for Primary Teacher Education. 2010)

As school systems developed, the teaching of Religion became a subject in the

Curriculum.
As a school subject, it stands alongside other subjects meeting the needs of young people
growing up in an increasingly complex society.
Christianity was first ushered in by the Early Christian Missionary. The first to set foot on
the East African soil were the Portuguese from Portugal and they had accompanied
Vasco dagama and other explores on their way to the far East. This was in 1494 but their
efforts to open up Mission in the East Coast of Africa for example Malindi were
unsuccessful.

However in 1844 a German Lutheran Missionary by the name Johann Ludwig Krapt
came to Zanzibar and Mombasa and with Rev. John Rebman from the Christian
Missionary Society opened their first Mission station at Rabai. This became their first
station and from there they opened other stations such as Ribe, Zanzibar, Mombassa and
Bura near Voi.

The Missionaries made Christian Religious Education a core subject to mission

involvement in Education.
For example they made it clear that to attend a particular mission school a person had to
belong to the Christian denomination that had established the school and every church
attached its peculiar doctrine to the Religious Education Instructions given to the
learners.
According to Mugambi K.N.J. (The African heritage and contemporary Christianity
1989) He further confirmed that some schools and college’s ion Europe and North
America still required their students to qualify in Greek and Latin as a precondition to
enter University. In addition every Country in Europe and North America required that
all students should learn the language, history and culture of its people in order to be
allowed to pursue their courses.

Besides being driven by the desire to propagate their doctrines in the teaching of
Christian Religious Education the churches were also faced by numerous challenges. For
example there was no common syllabus in Christian Religious Education hence each
denomination drew up its own syllabus and implemented it according to their own
teaching. The teachers of Christian Religious Education were also not professionally
trained therefore lacked the skills and appropriate methods of teaching.
The learning /Teaching resources were also inappropriate as the only learning resources
available then was the Bible
However the fundamental, development in the history of C.R.E is its inclusion in the
constitution of Kenya where it is stated that,
The constitution of Kenya is very clear on matters of Religion and Religious Instruction
Chapter Six Part II on the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, Article 48 (1) says; every
person has the right to freedom of conscience, religion thought, belief and Opinion.

From Article 48 the learner is granted freedom to express his/her religion, He/She shall
therefore receive religious Instruction in Accordance with the parents wish and consent.
However before and up to independence, schools were under the management of various
religious groups states Minish J.E. (Christian Religious Education for Primary Teacher
Education 2010) After Kenyans Independence in 1963, the government found it
necessary to revise the entire school Curriculum and state clearly the National goals of
Education in an Independent Kenya. This task was undertaken by the Kenya Education
Commission (1964), headed by Professor Ominde of the University of Nairobi.

Following the recommendation of the Ominde Commission of 1964, the Ministry of

Education started working together with Churches as recommended by the Commission.
The commission stated that when teaching Christian religious Education the teacher
should adhere to the National goals of Education and that CRE should be treated as an
academic subject and taught along educational lines.

At the same time the Ministry of Education in Partnership with the Church secretariats
developed the Primary Christian Religious syllabus and materials for the teaching of
Christian Religious Education.

The Education Act of (1968) gave legal expression to the changes in the education
system introduced after Independence in the Ominde Report. It confirmed that Christians
Religious Education should be handled as an academic subject aimed at bringing about
knowledge and understanding, including moral growth among the learners. It was to be
taught according to an approved syllabus.(Act section 8,(c)and Regulation)

The act also stipulates the role of religious sponsors in schools where sponsorship means
that the churches shared responsibility of Religious Education with the government
.Sponsorship entals a relationship between the schools and the community .The sponsor
is chosen by the community served by the school and in most cases it happens to be the
founder of the school in cooperation with the community.
The Act continue to state that ,the sponsor must participate in the preparation and
recommendation of Christian Religious Education curriculum ,syllabus and books for the
approval by the ministry of Education.(Act8,(C) .The Act also states that the sponsor
must offer supervisory and advisory services for the effective teaching of Christian
Religious Education and ensure that it is conducted according to the syllabus(Regulation
6).As well as having the right to be consulted on the appointment or deployment of
teachers to sponsored school (Act 8 :3).
However in 1967 the Christian churches develop two syllabi which they named syllabus
‘A’and syllabus ‘B’.Syllabus .It was later on reported that two syllabi were not in line
with the recommendation of the Ominde report of 1964 that stated that Christian
Religious Education should be taught as a unified syllabus .
In connection with that in 1972,the government rejected the use of two separate syllabi
to teach one subject and in the same year the Christian churches decided to come together
in an effort to produce an interim joint syllabus for all Christian pupils and in the same
year the interim syllabus was introduced to schools as the first step to having a unified
syllabus, Nevertheless the implementation of the interim syllabus took a rather slow start
and it was not until 1975 that the syllabus was generally accepted and implemented.
In 1980 the National Primary Christian Religious Education panel at the Kenya Institute
of Education took the initiative and organized in conjunction with the churches
secretariats a national workshop also known as the Limuru conference. This conference
recommended that the teaching of Christian Religious Education should be based on Life
Approach(using the learners daily experience to introduce the Christian Religious
Education topics).it should also be child centered and Christ centered. In other words the
Limuru conference came up with the objectives of Christian Religious Education as well
as the approaches of teaching the subject.

Besides the Limuru conference 1974 which came up with the objectives of Christian
Religious Education and approaches of teaching the subject there was also the
implication of the National Committee on Educational Objectives and policies (NCEOP)
for Christian religious Education also know as the Gachathi Report, (1976).According to
the Gachathi report of 1976, This report emphasized on social values and purpose in life.
Among the many recommendations it made, it particularly stated that Christian Religious
Education should be instituted in the Education system as a basis for the continued
survival and enhancement of the quality of life and in the process provide for ethical
education and training on such social matters as family life Education, environment,
national and international understanding. It stated that, the teaching of Christian
Religious Education should be able to assist the youth to grow into self discipline, self
respective and law abiding mature creative people who are able to translate the
knowledge they get in Education into purposeful use in life.
The most recent historical development in the teaching of Christian Religious Education,
is the revision of the Primary Christian Religious Education syllabus of 1992 and 2002
where a needs assessment survey was done on the 8.4.4 curriculum .Its findings were that
the curriculum was too wide and that the learners had to bear the burden of too many
subjects that left them unduly stressed .Learning was found to be unfriendly and the
educational goals were not being achieved. Christian Religious Education the survey
revealed was suffering the same fate .The syllabus was wide and contained unrealistic
objectives and inappropriate content .As a result the learners were left confused and at a
loss .Teachers grappled with a teacher centered approach since most topics were to be
covered through lecture method.
A review of the syllabus was inevitable with a view of making the teaching and learning
of Christian Religious Education more realistic and meaningful.

2.2 IMPACT ON THE LEARNER

Muiru, L. (primary Education C.R.E Hand book .2006) stated the following as some of
the ways in which Christian Religious Education impact the life of a child
For instance, in standard one, unit3, ‘Holy Bible’ has been introduced to acquint the
learners with the Bible which is the main source of teaching the subject and the basis of
Christian teaching.

In standard five, unit 1 ‘Growing up in Christ’, effects of irresponsible boy/girl

relationship have been included to help the learners, realize the dangers of irresponsible
relationships. It is hoped that this will help them make correct decisions about their
relationships as they grow up.

In standard six, unit 5, ‘Living a responsible life’ has been included to help the pupils
develop useful life skills.

In standard seven, unit 1, ‘God given talents /abilities and their uses’ has been
introduced to help learners recognize and use their talents for the service of God and
others and their personal development. In unit 2 “The sermon on the Mount” content on
living values has been introduced to help the learners appreciate the value of school in
their lives.
In standard eight, under the unit 1 “God’s help and self help”, content on misuse of
God’s creation has been introduced. The view on traditional African Society and the
Christian teaching on use and misuse of God’s creation is discussed. This is to help the
learners appreciate God’s creation and use it as desired by God.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Minish, E.J. (2010). CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR Primary
Teacher Education. Nairobi: E.A Educational Publisher..
2. Mwaura, N.P et al 2003). Primary Teacher Education Christian Religious
Education. Nairobi JKF
3. Muiru, L. (2006). Primary Education C.R.E Handbook. NAIROBI: K.I.E
4. Mbithi, J.S (1969). African Religious and Philosophy. London: Neinemann
5. Oxford Advance Leader Dictionary.
6. Republic of Kenya (1964). The Kenya Commission Education Report
(Ominde Report). Nairobi: Government Printer.
7. Republic of Kenya (1968). The Education Act. Nairobi: Government Printer.
8. Republic of Kenya (1976). Report of the National committee on Educational
Objectives and Policies (Gachathi Report). Nairobi; Government Printer.
9. en.wikipadia.org/wiki/Educ created 1979.